Rafa wins Golden Bear for Best Short Film 2012

Sandra Hüller, Emily Jacir and David O'Reilly have made their decision. The international short film jury has choosen Rafa to be the best film in the Berlinale Shorts 2012 competition. Director João Salaviza's work will be part of Short Talks 2012. We interviewed actress Joana Verona for our documentary and she talked with us about the making of Rafa as well as her thoughts on the movie. 


The official plot synopsis for Golden Bear winning Rafa:

"Rafa is thirteen and lives with his mother, sister and his little nephew in a tiny flat in one of the suburbs just south of Lisbon on the other side of the big bridge.
One morning, his mother isn’t there. She didn’t return after spending another night with that man. Worried, Rafa sets off to find her.
He goes to the police station and tries to find out something. Although he responds to their questions calmly he doesn’t get any answers himself. Rafa tries to stand his own in this authoritarian environment and cope with the absurdities of bureaucracy, but to no avail. He takes off to see what the rest of the day will bring. He discovers many an enticement along the way but has to overcome its appeal.
He is prepared to do everything and anything – except go home without his mother."

There are some more Short Talks attendees among this year's winners: